Valparaiso's Bryce Drew. / J. Pat Carter, AP

by Chris Mahr, Special for USA TODAY Sports

by Chris Mahr, Special for USA TODAY Sports

The 75th anniversary of the NCAA men's basketball tournament provides more reason than usual to think about the shooting stars the Big Dance has produced over the years. Chris Mahr of our friends at Lost Lettermen update the whereabouts of 30 one-hit wonders who helped make March Madness what it is today.

1. Kevin Pittsnogle, West Virginia

"You've been Pittsnogled!" became a widely used rallying cry in college basketball in the mid-2000s. That's when a heavily tattooed, homegrown, 6-11 Mountaineers forward with a deft touch outside and inside - and an unmistakable last name - helped lead a seemingly undermanned WVU team to the 2005 Elite Eight and 2006 Sweet 16.

Pittsnogle last played professionally in 2012 with the Eastern Basketball Alliance's Winchester Storm. Now 28, he works as a sales consultant for Miller's Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in his hometown of Martinsburg, W.Va. He lives there with his wife, Heather, and their two children.

2. Ali Farokhmanesh, Northern Iowa

Despite his worldly-sounding name, Farokhmanesh - whose father is Iranian - was a homegrown (Iowa City) product for the Panthers. Never one to turn down a shot he didn't like, it was Farokhmanesh who helped Northern Iowa beat UNLV in the first round and stun top-seeded Kansas 69â??67 in the second round in 2010. His gutsy (some would say insane) three-pointer with less than 40 seconds remaining gave UNI a 66-62 lead over KU and is now part of tournament lore.

The Sports Illustrated cover boy for March 29, 2010, Farokhmanesh has played professionally the past three years in both Switzerland and Austria. Currently in the latter country with WBC Raiffeisen Wels, he is averaging 13.7 points per game on 52.6% shooting (including 40.5% from three).

3. Keith Smart, Indiana

(USA TODAY Sports)

The 1987 Final Four was a special one for Smart for many reasons. There was his winning shot in the waning moments of the championship game, which earned him most outstanding player honors. He became a March Madness legend in New Orleans' Superdome, not far from his hometown of Baton Rouge. And he did so one year after plying his trade in obscurity at Garden City (Kan.) Community College.

After retiring as a player in 1997, Smart has devoted his life to coaching. He's now in his first full season with the Sacramento Kings after taking over on an interim basis last January.

Any conversation concerning the best names in sports is incomplete without the former Friars guard who pluckily led No. 10 seed Providence to the 1997 Elite Eight. In the national quarterfinals, the New York City product went toe-to-toe with Arizona's Mike Bibby to the tune of 23 points and five assists in a 96-92 loss to the eventual national champs.

Somewhat foolishly, Shammgod declared for the NBA draft after that '97 season. Even though he was selected by the Washington Wizards in the second round, his NBA career amounted to just 20 games before he embarked on a long, overseas odyssey. Shammgod is now back at his alma mater, finishing his degree and working as an undergraduate student assistant coach.

5. Joey Rodriguez, VCU

If a face had to be given to VCU's unlikely run to the 2011 Final Four, it would be that of Joey Rodriguez, its heady 5-10 point guard. In the Rams' six NCAA tournament games - which included a "First Four" game against USC - the senior scored 54 points (9.0 per game) and dished out 46 assists (7.7 per game) and turned over the ball just 12 times (2.0 per game).

Coaching in his first Sweet 16 game in 1990, Jim Calhoun needed a miracle with his UConn team trailing Clemson 70â??69 and just one second remaining. Calhoun got one when Scott Burrell lofted a length-of-the-court pass to Tate George, who came down with the pass before swishing a turnaround jumper as time expired. To make it sweeter for George, he did it at the Meadowlands in his home state of New Jersey.

Kimble was the eighth overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, only to have injuries plague his pro career. Now living in North Wales, Pa., he runs the "44 for Life" heart disease awareness foundation - named after the jersey number of LMU teammate Hank Gathers, who died of a heart condition during the 1989-90 season. Kimble recently has tried breaking into coaching. He is an unpaid assistant at Shoreline (WA) Community College.

In northwest Indiana (and sometimes elsewhere), Bryce Drew's game-winning, buzzer-beating trey for No. 13 seed Valparaiso against Ole Miss in a 1998 first-round game is simply called "The Shot." It's so well-known to the masses that it has its own Wikipedia page. And people often forget that Drew also spearheaded an upset of Florida State in the next round that sent the Crusaders to the only Sweet 16 in school history.

Fifteen years later, Drew and his alma mater were dancing again this year. After taking the reins at Valpo following his father Homer's retirement in 2011, Bryce - an assistant coach under his dad from 2005â??2011 - guided the Crusaders to their first NCAA berth since 2004.